Every once in a while a game comes along that completely reaffirms my love of gaming. The recent reboot of Tomb Raider is one of those games. I had expected great things from Lara Croft‘s “rebirth” but what I got was quite a lot more awesome than I had planned. Tomb Raider is a near perfect game from start to finish and will leave you wanting more from our heroine, Lara, who finally got the game she deserves.

Through the years I’ve had a love/hate relationship with the Tomb Raider franchise. Being a female myself I was instantly smitten with the idea of controlling an intelligent female protagonist. Despite her extremely short-shorts and well endowed chest, Lara had credibility as a dual gun wielding action/adventurer who became an icon in the “boys club” of memorable video game characters. Unfortunately for Lara, she was always kind of one-dimensional and through the years lacked character development and was slowly forgotten as her male counterparts progressed and became multi-dimensional.

As we moved into the current generation of consoles I hadn’t given Lara much thought, that is until I started playing Uncharted Drake’s Fortune. Not only did I think, this is the game Tomb Raider should have become, Uncharted finally succeeded in giving me the female video game character I’ve been seeking. While Elena Fisher is not Uncharted’s lead, she has become as beloved as our hero and main man Drake. All of Uncharted’s characters were created with love and depth as was the gripping cinematic quality to the franchises stories. I largely credit this with Naughty Dog’s, Amy Hennig, who is the main creative director and writer to the Uncharted series.

Amy Hennig is a legend in the games industry and previously worked for, Crystal Dynamics. As you may or may not know Crystal Dynamics took over development of the Tomb Raider franchise in 2003 and are also responsible for the current reboot of Tomb Raider. At one point during her time at Crystal Dynamics, Hennig wanted to reboot Tomb Raider but the task was given to someone else. Hennig eventually left Crystal Dynamics and joined Naughty Dog, and a legendary series was born. In a recent interview Hennig has stated that she was disappointed she didn’t get the opportunity to revive Tomb Raider. However, I feel Ms. Hennig is largely responsible for Lara’s growth as its apparent Crystal Dynamics took more than a few pointers from her groundbreaking Uncharted series.

When we first meet the new Lara Croft, we find a young woman and recent archeology graduate about to embark on her first expedition to the Yamatai island in the Dragon’s Triangle which is off the coast of Japan. It’s here that an unsure girl will be forced to overcome a bevy of trials and tribulations that will mold Lara into the iconic heroine the character has earned.

Lara and her crew set off to explore the mysterious Yamatai and the legend of its queen known as Himiko or “Sun Queen”. Legend has it Himiko had shamanistic powers in which she could control the weather. A storm is what sets off events of the adventure which leaves the crew torn apart and stranded on the strange island that is inhabited by the Solari Brotherhood, a dangerous and violent cult. Throughout Tomb Raider’s campaign an interesting and well written story unfolds but I would be doing you a disservice to elaborate on events that are responsible in transforming a young Lara who is unsure of herself into a fledgling hero, poised to take the reigns of the Tomb Raider franchise.

Not only does Lara’s character develop throughout the game, her abilities are honed as well. Early on, when you are required to walk across a narrow beam, Lara is cautious and almost clumsy about it, but later she expertly finds herself able to cross similar scenarios with ease and confidence. When Lara is forced to kill for the first time, it’s an emotional moment you won’t forget and expertly conveyed by Lara’s voice actor, Camilla Ludington.

Initially I played Tomb Raider on the 360, but I recently scored a free PC copy through a promotion with AMD Radeon when I replaced my video card with one of theirs. The graphics of the 360 version looks great but the PC version is stunningly beautiful. AMD created a cool little feature for the PC version called TressFX Hair, and let me tell you Lara’s hair looks fabulous! If you have a rig that will run Tomb Raider on Ultra settings, I highly recommend the PC version. However if you are interested in the multiplayer portion I’d go with a console version as the PC community seems to have less interest in MP for this game than console fans do.

Speaking of MP I’ve mostly enjoyed it, which is a good thing as it was recently announced that for now, any planned DLC for Tomb Raider will be Multiplayer based. I do so hope Crystal Dynamics changes their mind on this because I would love some more single player Tomb Raider even if it’s just a few new tombs to explore.

Tomb Raider is available now for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. It was developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix. I can’t recommend this game enough, it is truly an epic experience. Look out The Last Of Us and Bioshock Infinite, a “contender is born”.

Sacred Citadel the side scrolling hack and slash action game is now available for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. Sacred Citadel offers all of the comforts of the action brawler but kicks it up a notch by incorporating RPG elements. As if that weren’t enough, gameplay includes dual wielding of weapons, combos galore and some pretty stunning graphics.

Play solo or bring a friend or two, as Sacred Citadel offers fun co-op gameplay for up to 3 people.

Download Sacred Citadel on the platform of your choice for the low price of $14.99 on PSN and Steam or 1200 Microsoft points on XBLA. You can also add the DLC pack, Jungle Hunt for $4.99 / 400 Microsoft points.

Sacred Citadel was developed by Southend Studios and is being published by Deep Silver.

Look for my full review of Sacred Citadel coming soon to Don’t Hate The Geek. Check out the launch trailer below.

Spicy Horse has announced their next project will be a collectible card game/RTS tentatively titled Hell Invaders. Shooting for a fall release, Hell Invaders is being developed for PC, Mac, Linux and tablets.

Hell Invaders will consist of actual card battles, instead of two cards fighting on a table. The creatures of the cards will have 3D representations which will do battle as well as cards that offer upgrades and swappable skills, giving cards with identical characters a completely different experience.

Players can play in a single player campaign or fight in PVP arenas. Trading, card management and other social features will also offer more ways to enjoy your time in hell.

Spicy Horse will be unveiling more details about Hell Invaders in the coming months. Don’t Hate The Geek will relay all the information as it becomes available.

Plants Vs Zombies was a phenom with the casual and hardcore gamer alike.The game first attacked the PC and Mac crowd before the zombie invasion took over our iOS devices and soon spread to every console and gaming device known to humans. Now PopCap games has finally revealed that a sequel is set to be unleashed in July.

Not much is known about the sequel to the tower defense game but the title even pokes fun about the long wait, Plants Vs Zombies 2: It’s About Time. Hit the break for PopCap’s teaser trailer for Plants Vs Zombies 2: It’s About Time.

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European videogame purveyor GAME has put itself up for sale. Apparently, the company is so short on money the odds of it being able to pay rent due within the next few weeks is slim and could force the firm into administration. If GAME fails, thousands of jobs are at risk. MCV reports that GameStop has expressed interest in purchasing GAME’s Spanish arm.

For the failing videogame seller to shed its British arm it could possibly have to fight through pre-pack administration. The company also has operations in France and Australia that will likely need the same sort of administration. GAME had significant issues after sales were particularly bad during the holiday shopping season in 2011. The company also met with some of its game suppliers to attempt to renegotiate terms. Some large suppliers such as EA, Nintendo, and Capcom were unmoved by GAME’s plight.

The failure to get those large suppliers on its side meant the company was unable sell anticipated games such as Mass Effect 3 and Street Fighter X Tekken. GAME is reportedly now telling investors that they need to brace themselves for administration. Shares of publicly traded company had lost 95% of the value in the past year and dropped a further 65% recently to trade at 1.2p or about 2 cents in USD per share.

For today’s Daily Deal we’ve found 13 great apps to add to your iPad collection. We have 3 productivity / entertainment apps and 10 game apps in today’s bundle.

We used our PadGadget Apps Tracker to find these great deals and we’ll continue to look for the best app deals as they pop-up. Some of these apps are up to 67% off, several are even free, so be sure to check them out because they are on sale for a limited time.

Game Apps

Blendamaze () – This fun marble game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $0.99.

Epic War TD Pro – iPad Edition – This iPad action game is now available for Free instead of $3.99.

Find the Way () – This adventure game has a 4 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $0.99.

Geared 2! () – This cool puzzle game is now available for Free instead of $2.99.

iBlast Moki 2 HD () – This fun puzzle game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $2.99.

Jet Dudes () – This wacky action game has a 4 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $0.99.

Puzzle Quest 2 () – This Match-3 Puzzle-RPG game has a 4 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $1.99 instead of $3.99. This app weighs in at 599 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading.

Robokill 2: Leviathan Five – This very popular arcade game has a 4 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $2.99.

Sky Gamblers: Rise Of Glory () – This flying game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $1.99 instead of $2.99.

World Conqueror 1945 for iPad – This strategy game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $0.99 instead of $2.99.

Productivity and Entertainment Apps

Luminance () – This very popular photo app has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $0.99.

Photo Transfer App () – This photo transfer app has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $1.99 instead of $2.99.

The Lion King: Timon’s Tale () – This storybook app is now on sale for $1.99 instead of $4.99. This app weighs in at 556 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading.

Also be sure to check out yesterday’s Daily Deal to find more great savings.

= Indicates app is Universal and will run on an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch.

We use our PadGadget Apps Tracker to constantly monitor the App Store to find the biggest price changes on iPad apps. Our editorial team goes through the data, picks the best deals on the most interesting apps and then brings them to you on a regular basis.All app prices are checked at the time of posting but prices are subject to change without notice. When developers put their apps on sale it’s usually for a very limited time, often 24 hours or less, so be sure to check pricing on iTunes before making a purchase.

Elgato Game Capture HD enables you to record PlayStation or Xbox game play to a Mac or PC and share it with your friends and fans. With advanced hardware H.264 encoding, you can capture in stunning HD quality, while keeping the file size low. The game play is passed through to the TV via HDMI – in pristine quality, without delay. Elgato Game Capture HD doesn’t need a lot of cables or even a power supply to record your game: With direct Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 input, you can use a single cable